The City Council seems likely to pass a resolution endorsing a state single-payer health care bill after a hearing Thursday in which health committee chair Mark Levine fervently supported such a system and criticized its detractors.
Levine derided the status quo in health care, which costs more per capita in the U.S. than in other developed countries without better outcomes. He said that while he supports a national approach, it is unlikely to be taken up by the Trump administration.
“New York need not and must not stand still in the face of inaction at the federal level,” he said.
The bill would create a statewide public fund to cover all New Yorkers with no out-of-pocket costs. It received broad support at the hearing from nurses, physicians, social workers, immigrant advocates, disability rights activists and community groups.
The New York Health Act has passed the Assembly four consecutive years, and with the Democrats taking control of the Senate in January, there is an increased chance of the bill’s passage next year. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he believes the federal government is best positioned to take up the issue.
Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera plan to reintroduce the bill in January to address fiscal concerns. One new wrinkle, which Gottfried previewed Thursday, is that it will incorporate long-term care, such as nursing home and home care.
“No New York family will have to wipe out their savings, and no family member will have to give up a career to provide long-term care for a loved one,” he said at the hearing.
A coalition called Realities of Single Payer, which includes the state Health Plan Association, state Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, and the Business Council, said in a statement that the hearing was “nothing more than political theater” and a single-payer system would result in higher taxes and decreased access to care.
An analysis in August by Rand Corp. estimated that the state would need to raise $139 billion more in taxes by 2022 to fund the program, an 156% increase above expected levels. The research organization proposed one possible tax structure, as the current bill lacks one. Under its proposal, households earning up to $290,000 would pay a smaller percentage of their income toward health payments, including the new taxes.
The analysis assumed the state would receive a waiver from the federal government to deliver Medicare and Medicaid benefits through its own program while still receiving federal funds. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma has said she wouldn’t approve such a waiver.
David Rich, executive vice president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, spoke in opposition to the bill at the hearing. He noted the coverage gains New York has made to lower its uninsured rate to 5% from 10% in 2013 and said there were other ways to insure the remaining 5%. He said he worried a single-payer system would provide lower reimbursement to hospitals than the current system.
“Yes, we must cover the remaining 5% of New Yorkers who are uninsured. Yes, we should make health care affordable,” he said. “We can do this without the disruption we think would be caused by a single-payer system.”
